TUCSON, Ariz. – No. 12 Arizona hit four home runs, two by Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza, while Taylor McQuillin threw a two-hit shutout as Arizona run-ruled Oregon, 8-0 in six innings, to open Pac-12 play at Hillenbrand Stadium on Friday night.
 
The win marked Arizona's first run-rule victory over Oregon since May 9, 2010 (11-0, 5 inn.) and first mercy victory in its Pac-10/12 opener since April 1, 2011 over Stanford (8-0, 5 inn.). It's the ninth run-rule victory in 2019 for the Wildcats and 19th overall for the Cats, who improve to 19-7, 1-0 Pac-12. The Ducks fell to 11-11, 0-1 Pac-12 with the loss.
 
Palomino-Cardoza hit a pair of monster home runs to right field, a solo shot off of Gittings Gym in the third and then a three-run home run on top of the same building in the sixth. After the game, UA head coach Mike Candrea called Palomino's second home run "I don't think I've seen a ball hit that far."
 

Watch it fly.

But never watch it land. pic.twitter.com/F8Bufkq5CZ

— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) March 16, 2019

 
The two home runs were Palomino-Cardoza's eighth and ninth of the season and 42nd and 43rd of her career as she continues her charge to join the 15-member Wildcat 50-homer club.
 
Dejah Mulipola and Rylee Pierce also homered in the game, both opposite field homers. Mulipola's second-inning homer was No. 11 of the season, bringing her within two of Jessie Harper for the team and Pac-12 lead. Mulipola is tied for seventh in the NCAA. Pierce went 3-for-3 at the plate, finishing a triple shy of the cycle in her best offensive game of her Wildcat career.
 
While the Wildcats exploded for eight runs on 13 hits, McQuillin was dominant in the circle, facing just two over the minimum and allowing just two infield singles over six innings with eight strikeouts. She did not allow a Duck to reach scoring position all night and allowed just two balls to reach the outfield. The senior, who retired 16 straight Ducks from the first to the sixth inning, tossed her fifth shutout of the season and improved to 8-5 on the year.
 
Five different Wildcats posted multi-hit games, led by Pierce's first three-hit effort as a Wildcat. Palomino-Cardoza, Reyna Carranco, Dejah Mulipola and Jenna Kean had two hits in the game. Palomino-Cardoza and Carranco both extended their season-long hitting streaks to eight games. For Carranco, it was her seventh multi-hit effort in those eight games; she is hitting .593 over her last 26 at-bats and leads the team with a .442 average on the season.
 
 
KEY INNINGS
 
Bottom 2: Arizona drew first blood in the second. Dejah Mulipola led off the frame with her fourth home run in the last four games to give the Wildcats the early lead. Tamara Statman recorded an infield single before a Rylee Pierce double put runners at second and third with one out for Hannah Martinez. The sophomore recorded a sacrifice fly to center to put the Cats on top, 2-0.
 
Bottom 3: The Wildcats used their second leadoff homer in as many innings to grab a 3-0 lead. It was Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza's first homer of the night.
 
Bottom 4: For the third straight inning, the Cats hit a solo homer. It was Rylee Pierce's turn in the fourth.
 
Bottom 6: Singles by Rylee Pierce and Jenna Kean put two on for Palomino Cardoza, who hit one on top of Gittings Gym, a three story building about 40 feet beyond the right field wall. Reyna Carranco and Dejah Mulipola followed with singles and Malia Martinez ended the game with a walkoff single up the middle.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Wildcats and Ducks will meet in game 2 of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. in UA's first game televised by the Pac-12 Networks this season.
 
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